House of Ice
by xxUSxUKxx
Summary: Heavily wounded and on the run, Gilbert suddenly finds himself in an unknown snowy territory. On the brink of passing out, he sees Ivan, who seems to have other plans for him. (Russia x Prussia) - Complete!
1. Chapter 1: You Watch Me Bleed

**Chapter One: **You Watch Me Bleed

_Red._

_The color of a rose._

_Rose red._

_The color of a drop of blood._

_Rose Red._

_The color of his eyes._

_White._

_The color of the snow._

_Snow white._

_The absence of all colors._

_Snow white._

_The color of his hair. _

_His touch is as warm as blood._

_But his heart was as cold as ice._

_He is as beautiful as a rose._

_But he is distant as the stars._

Snowflakes gently fluttered downward in large clumps, completely covering the earthen ground. The bare branches of the trees rattled like cat whiskers in the piercing ice wind. The cold air was felt like razor blades, seeming to cut through anything.

The snow-covered forest was completely quiet. Not a sound, other than the occasional twitching of branches together by the wind.

Then, without warning, there was a sound of a gunshot. It echoed around the snowy forest, startling a flock of small birds to take to the skies.

_Bang!_ There was the sound again. But this time, it was followed by several yells from men. The sound kept getting closer and closer, until it slowly stopped again.

From behind some of the berry-baring bushes, came a young man. He stumbled through the plants, trying to stay on his feet, but it was no use. His blood was soaked through his blue uniform, staining it dark. His hair was white and messy, coated in mud and snow, making it stick up every which way as though it looked like he had just woken up. Those blazing red eyes of his were searching around the area, trying to find out where he was.

"Damn..." He swore under his breath, almost falling forward. His hand clutched his side as a terrible pain shot up to his chest. "The awesome Gilbert shouldn't be like this..."

Gilbert Beilschmidt, older brother of Ludwig from Germany, was on the run. Several of his rivals had made a surprise attack on him and his brother, leaving them almost defenseless. Now, seeing that Gilbert had no chance, he was forced to retreat with Ludwig, but his younger brother was nowhere in sight.

Gilbert seemed to be making some ground, since his rivals didn't seem to be following him. But what about Ludwig? Surely he'd still be back there. Gilbert had to go back, but he couldn't bring himself to move. It was then that he realized how far he had gotten by the change in temperature.

The white-haired man groaned as he glanced down at all the blood he was loosing. It was oozing everywhere, and that started to make him feel a bit light-headed. There had to be someone or something out here that could help him.

Forcing his legs to move, he kept pushing on through the trees and bushes, trying to find something around here. There _had _to be someone here that could help him. But, he had no idea where is was. Therefore, he didn't know if he was in an enemy's territory, getting targeted already to be taken down. At that thought, he tried to keep his guard up, tensing his shoulders as he let out some huffy breaths.

But the effort was no use. Even if there was someone out there, friend or foe, they would know that he was weak. Even Gilbert himself knew he was weak now, and he hated that fact.

It wasn't until when he broke out from some bushes and looked around. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing. The forest he was in had thinned out into a complete landscape of white snow. Nothing in sight but more and more snow.

Gilbert groaned, stumbling forward until his legs gave out. Snow flew up into his face, stinging it with its icy glare. As much as the cold snow bothered him, Gilbert could not bring himself to move onto his back. Everything hurt.

He let out a sigh, seeing some of the snowflakes on the ground fly up in a puff of white. This was it. This was where he was going to die. Loss of blood and freezing to death. What a way to do.

At that thought, for some reason, a small chuckle came out of his mouth, making more white puffs of snow fly up again.

The albino still lay in the snow, which was more red than white. His breathing was short and quick, making him panic and think that these were his final moments. Maybe he wasn't cut out to be the awesome country like he always told himself he was. Maybe things would be better if he was to just disappear, no longer live, no longer have a home.

_No_! He was _Gilbert_, _dammit_! He _had_ to try something!

But there was no one around, was there? Besides, if there was, who would want to help him anyways...

Then, that was when he heard something. It was distant, but it slowly grew in sound. Something was crunching through the snow, towards him, he knew that for a fact.

What was it?

The hair on the back of Gilbert's neck stood up as he realized that it was something large coming his way. He prepared the best he could for the worst that was yet to come now. This was no friend of his. This was something else... Or someone else.

Raising his head slightly, Gilbert could only make out the dark outline of a rather tall person, heading his way still. Scrunching his eyes, hopefully trying to see better, he tried his best to see who it was. But it was no use. His vision became blurry with the amount of blood he was loosing.

As the sound of crunching snow came closer, the albino squeezed his eyes closed. Here it comes, the final blow.

Seconds ticked by, and that turned to minutes. There was nothing.

Gilbert opened one of his eyes slightly. It was dark now. The figure that stood towering above him was blocking out some of the light of the sun, that was more hidden by grey clouds now. Wincing, he moved his head ever so slightly, trying to see if he could get more of a clearer view of whom stood in front of him.

Suddenly, the figure started making noise. The person was laughing. At what? At _him?_ But as soon as the laughter started, it stopped suddenly.

Looming into view, the figure crouched down and Gilbert could see the figure's face somewhat more clearly, but he still couldn't name the face.

"Privet... Gilbert..." The voice from the figure issued out like steam from a tea kettle.

The soft voice rung in Gilbert's ears. That voice was calling someone's name. _His_ name. But why did it sound so familiar? Who was that? Was he in danger? Could he defend himself?

It was really not the best time to answer these questions himself. Then again, he wasn't in the best shape either.

All he could really do was take in sharp gasps of the cold air around him. He was chilled to the bone now, and he hated it. He hated the feeling of being freezing, and rather wanted to be someplace warm instead now, but there was barely any strength left in him to try and make warmth. It was too late for all that now.

Trying to lift his head again, Gilbert's vision grew in and out of focus. He could see that the person had a scarf wrapped almost around his face. A pair of bright purple eyes seemed to stare down at him and into his very soul.

Dropping his head again in defeat, he soon made the realization. He now knew where he was and who was next to him.

"Ivan..." He breathed out heavily.

Gilbert could see Ivan smile ever so slightly as he said his name.

"Do you need my help? Or should I just leave you here?" He asked, that smile was not moving off his face yet.

There was a ruffling of clothes as Ivan's hand reached out towards Gilbert's head, raising it up gently.

Feeling his head being lifted, Gilbert's eyes opened just enough to see those big purple ones again. How he wished he could just stab them out right now. But he was too weak, and Ivan knew it, which he hated most of all. He hated being weak, he hated how other people could see it at times, especially now since Ivan could see it.

"It's surprising that you're here... in my land," The taller man began. His eyes traveled down to Gilbert's chest. "... Soaked in your and other people's blood..." His tone was dark.

The albino was about to make some nasty retort to him, but nothing came out. All that issued from his mouth was a small splatter of blood, which made him gasp aloud.

"I don't... need you..." He tried panting out through gritted teeth. As he said that, he braced himself, knowing that a blow from the taller man was sure to come. As he did that, he felt one small single tear roll down his cheek as though he knew there wasn't a way for him to be saved.

Only a miracle could do something like that for him now.

Though, for nothing more than a second, Gilbert saw that Ivan's eyes had softened for a moment when he saw the blood from his mouth and that tear. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Gilbert thought he heard Ivan's breath suddenly stop for a moment. There was no way that that was possible.

"The figure of you suffering makes me happy..." He smiled a bit again, but that then dropped into a frown. "However, how can I be happy when the one causing you pain is not me?"

"Eh?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow as though he had hear him wrong. But Ivan didn't answer. Instead, he just took out his blood-stained pipe from behind him, making Gilbert's eyes widen slightly.

"Of course... Simply dying won't repay you for all the things you have cost me." He nodded, looking off into the distance slightly, as though lost in thought. "No," he shook his head. "No, you must suffer much more." Then he turned his attention back to Gilbert again, still holding onto the albino by the hair.

Despite feeling as though he would black out any second, Gilbert glared at the other, watching Ivan feel almost triumphant over him. Slowly, as Ivan contemplated more over Gilbert's condition and about what happened towards the past, the albino could feel his eyes widen again.

Suffer _more_? What could possibly be worst than dying by _Ivan's_ _hand_? Once again, his question remained unanswered.

There was something unnerving in Ivan's tone as he spoke again, making Gilbert start shivering but not from the cold. "I won't let you die... for now, da?"

**Thanks for reading the first chapter I got so far! Expect more coming soon. Sorry if there's no fluff or smut or whatever yet, it's going to be a slow build up, but I'll try my best to make something up between them. Or whatever. I dunno. But thanks! Love, xxUSxUKxx**


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Caught in a Hurricane

**Chapter Two: **I'm Caught in a Hurricane

Gilbert's head throbbed as he was pulled up to his feet by his hair again. Ivan had not let his tight grip on him go yet. And what was worse was that the taller man was now _dragging_ him across the snowy plain.

His first reaction was to try and get the larger man to release the grip on his hair, which felt as though it was going to be pulled out by the roots. But Ivan was much more stronger than he was at the moment, so every little attack and struggle that Gilbert tried to make against him did nothing to really help him.

Ivan's smirk only just increased, noting down how flimsy Gilbert had gotten under his hand. It was obvious that he enjoyed having this much power and strength over him.

Soon, over the horizon, a building came into view. Squinting through the thick snow, Gilbert could make out that it was some old warehouse. It was abandoned, of course. The walls were made of wood that looked a million years old. The roof was poorly attached, with huge holes in them, allowing snow piles to fall through inside. Overall, the whole place looked like it would fall over at any second.

The two of them were still in silence, only the whispering of the wind and the crunching of their footsteps was all that was heard. Gilbert could see the forest start to disappear from view, until it was engulfed by more snow as they neared closer and closer to the abandoned warehouse.

_How strange, _Gilbert thought. _Why would this be here? Surely this isn't Ivan's house, is it?_

Ivan opened the door with a loud creak once they had arrived. Dust and snow flew out from it as though it hadn't been opened in a while. Letting go of Gilbert's hair, Ivan shoved the shorter man inside, following behind him also.

Gilbert had to admit that he was glad that Ivan had released his hair, since he tried to fix it again. He hated looking so disheveled in front of people, he said it was not too awesome. Even though he was still bleeding pretty harshly, Gilbert had managed to pat down his hair to its normal style to try and make himself even look a little half decent.

But Gilbert's little victory didn't last long as Ivan kicked him forward to the nearest wall. The albino fell to his knees, his head bent over so that he was staring at the wall. The taller man's gaze did not leave the other's agonizing figure as he took a seat on a chair near the middle of the room.

"You look better in blood," Ivan commented, slight amusement in his voice. "Well, your own blood at least..."

"I'd bet I'd look more awesome in _your_ blood." He retorted back, muttering under his breath. Gilbert still kept his head down, shaking slightly, but not making eye-contact with Ivan still.

"You should stop denying things," Ivan continued with the same tone, clearly ignoring Gilbert's snarky responses. "Admit it, you've gotten weak, Gilbert..."

"But I'm not weak... I'm not weak..." He told himself over and over, like it was some sort of chant. His voice slowly raised, making Ivan able to hear him more clearly.

"I... am not..." Somehow he managed to get to his feet, narrowing his red eyes at Ivan while he nonchalantly sat on the chair. "_Weak_!" He yelled. And with some burst of energy, he charged at him, his hands raised to punch him in the face.

But Ivan was quicker. The taller man merely just raised up his hand to block Gilbert's little surprise attack, and pushed him back down onto the ground again.

Fear flashing in front of him, Gilbert's eyes widened. He landed on his back with a sickening _thud,_ making him think that maybe something had broke back there. This was not what he needed. Letting out a sigh, Gilbert winced and sat up to face Ivan again, sending him a glare of hatred, but was stopped.

Ivan was... _laughing_?

"Oh, Gilbert," He began, looking somewhat longingly at the albino as he leaned his head against his arm. For a second, he looked like a little kid with a schoolgirl crush. "How you amuse me so."

_What a sick bastard!_ Gilbert clenched his teeth together, narrowing his eyes again. _Getting entertainment out of other people's torture through pain. Sick._

"Ah..." Gilbert muttered quietly, grabbing his side in pain. Him landing on his back must have made the cut on his side open up more so, since more blood had appeared on the side of his uniform.

Out of the corner of his eye, Gilbert could see Ivan's head perk up in interest. _Ugh, must he always be so interested in bloodshed? Just leave me and my bleeding alone, _He almost shouted out loud.

"What do you want from me?" Gilbert spat out eventually, not facing Ivan fully on and bringing his head back down. "You could have just left me out there, you know..."

Ivan blinked innocently. "Did you not listen to what I said? I cannot be truly satisfied until I make you personally suffer with my own hands..." He explained in a rushed voice.

Gilbert closed his eyes for a moment, his head still bent down so that his white hair covered part of his face. "What..." He panted, still not bothering to look up at him yet. "What are you going to do with me then?"

This time, he raised his head up, his red gaze wasn't as hard now. In fact, there wasn't anything but concern and maybe even a bit of fear in his eyes now. Who knew what he was going to do to him? Then again, who knew what was going inside _Ivan's_ mind?

Seeming to read Gilbert's thoughts almost, Ivan gave him a smile again. But this one was different, it was much more creepy-looking, and faintly showed his white teeth. Gilbert's heart sank at that and slightly became shaken. He had never seen that smile on him before, and it really freaked him out.

"Just you wait, comrade..." He began, letting out a sigh and fixing his scarf more securely around his mouth. "I will do things to you that every man would fear..." Came his muffled voice from behind his scarf, but Gilbert knew all well that he was having that same smile again.

Gilbert couldn't help but stare silently up at him, eyes widening once again. _Fear... What did I fear?_ he asked himself. _What could Ivan want that was much more horrific than death?_ He didn't know. And he didn't want to wait to find out. He had to get back. Ludwig was probably out there right now, looking for him. But he was stuck here, with this monster of a person.

Seeing Ivan just sitting there, not really making any more gestures towards him, Gilbert took a short moment to relax, letting his muscles unloosen enough so that he was placed on the ground comfortably (or as much as he could get), careful not to rupture any more of his body again. He grew more tired by every blink, until his eyes fully closed as he muttered one last thing,

"Ludwig..."

"Hm?" Came Ivan's voice from across the room, but Gilbert didn't even bother to open his eyes again as he got into a somewhat of a comfortable position. "Oh yes... the German. I almost forgot about him..." Ivan continued. "I'm going to siege Berlin... Do you want to wait here while I move on to victory? He asked, tilting his head ever so slightly so that he appeared almost innocent-like.

That caught Gilbert's attention at once, snapping his head up in an instant. "_What_?!" He panicked, moving himself to an upright position. "No... You won't win this... I will no just stand by..." He couldn't bring himself to finish any of his sentences. If Ivan was going up against Ludwig, there would be no way that his brother would be able to prevail, considering that Ludwig was also in a poor condition like him, which was an easy target for Ivan.

But the taller man just chuckled at him. "You just wait... I will show you how I punish those who dare hurt the Mother Russia." His usual smile was back again. He didn't allow Gilbert to respond, nor did he say anything more. He just stood up from his chair and grabbed his blood-stained pipe, dragging it along with him as he left the albino, not listening to him any longer.

_Hurt him? How did I hurt him?_

All that Gilbert recalled doing was a little teasing, but that wasn't much was it? Was there more to this than he thought?

Either way, Ivan was gone, but he saw his chance to escape. He had to get out of here somehow. Gathering as much strength as he could, he staggered to his feet, blood still somewhat gushing from one side of his leg as well as the side of his whole body. Fumbling along, and knocking some things over, he reached the door to the old building. He tried turning the doorknob, but it was no use. The door wouldn't budge.

And that's when Gilbert lost it.

"YOU CAN'T KEEP ME IN HERE FOREVER!" He yelled aloud, slamming his fists against the door, but it still wouldn't move. Falling to his knees, he bent his head down as another tear slid down his face as he knew that Ivan had a smirk on his own.

This was all his fault. He should have _never_ traveled up this far up here.

"Now then..., our plan shall proceed." Gilbert heard Ivan address his men.

As he heard Ivan and his troops begin their descent towards Berlin, Gilbert couldn't help but tug at his hair and wince in pain as more blood began to flow from his wounds again. He couldn't do anything now. He was trapped.

All his life, he would always look out for Ludwig, and he would do the same to his older brother. Now, Gilbert had basically set him up for a death sentence. He knew, somewhere deep down, that Ludwig would probably not survive it, knowing how large Ivan and his army was.

So all he could do was wait. Just wait out those long, agonizing hours until Ivan returned.


	3. Chapter 3: My Own Worst Enemy

**Chapter Three: **My Own Worst Enemy

As it turned out, several days had passed by before Ivan returned home. It appeared that they were victories, by the loud amounts of joyous chatter that arose out of the large army that Ivan had put together.

Gilbert's heart dropped even lower into his stomach, knowing that Ludwig was probably suffering badly know. Though, Gilbert hadn't been doing much himself, considering what else there was to do being trapped in a dusty old shack for several days. Mostly, he had just sat in a darkened corner of the room, clinging to just his thoughts.

He mostly wondered about what Ivan was planning on doing with him when he got back. Also, there were other thoughts like; would he be able to see Ludwig again, will he actually get some food around here, how much longer until he were to pass out from exhaustion, and why was Ivan so interested in him all of a sudden?

Gilbert knew that he was adorable, that was a bonus for being incredibly awesome, but he didn't know that anyone like Ivan would pick up on him. Maybe it wasn't his good looks that had Ivan intrigued by him. No, it probably was just whatever Gilbert had done to him in the past, and now he was attempting to get revenge on him, sort of thing.

"Privet...?"

_Speaking of the devil..._

Gilbert's head moved up once he heard his name being called. He was paler than usual and looked disheveled. Thankfully enough, some of the bleeding had stopped, but he still felt sick to his stomach. The lack of food and drink was taking a toll on him now.

And just seeing that small amount of light from that dastardly sun enter the room once Ivan opened the door made Gilbert shield his eyes.

"What?" He croaked out, his voice cracking from the lack of use.

Finally noticing where his position was, Ivan wandered over towards him before crouching in front of him. His smile was playful, that matched his purple eyes. "So..." He cleared his throat before continuing. "How are you?"

Gilbert avoided eye-contact with him, shifting his position so his legs were up against his chest. "I've been trapped here for almost a week by a psycho," he muttered bitterly. "How do you think I feel?" His jaw clenched as he turned his head away, wrapping his arms more securely around his legs.

It could have been is imagination, but he thought he saw Ivan flinch slightly when he had said he was trapped by a psycho. Why would he do that? Gilbert thought Ivan was some sort of fearless bastard, not someone who gets easily offended by words.

Gilbert couldn't tell what was real and just in his head anymore. Most things he saw seemed as though they were real, like now. While other things he tried to persuade himself that it was the lack of food and blood that was making him this way. Just ask the small white bunny he was talking to the other day when the furry little creature had somehow snuck in.

Ivan's chuckling brought Gilbert back from his thoughts. "Well, that's good to hear." He nodded, pulling his scarf closer to his face. As he did, Gilbert noticed that there were some blood stains on it. Some looked new, some seemed older.

_Why the hell does he wear that thing?_ Gilbert almost gagged.

Ivan caught Gilbert's glimpse at his scarf, but his smile didn't bother to move again. "Don't worry," He said, trying to sound reassuring. "Your brother did not die. We just simply... _wounded _him..." His voice was dark again.

Hearing that caused some sort of reaction out of Gilbert. Reaching a hand up, he grabbed ahold of Ivan's scarf, pulling him closer so that their faces were almost touching Gilbert could see Ivan's eyes search around his face, not daring to let out a breath. Those purple orbs seemed much more calmer than they were before, which made a shiver run up Gilbert's spine. He had never seen the Russian's eyes get so soft like that before. They were almost hypnotic...

_No! What are you doing?! _A voice mentally slapped him as Gilbert turned his eyes towards Ivan's purple ones, narrowing them.

"You better not have killed him." He said gruffly through clenched teeth. He tried to sound as intriguing as possible, hoping to try and maybe knock the other off guard.

But Ivan didn't look moved by him. His eyes were still soft, which made Gilbert slightly uncomfortable, and his smile was just barely visible over the blood-stained scarf that covered it. "I didn't... We just broke his spirit..." He explained simply, placing his hands on top of Gilbert's not yet ready to move them off though. "Just be thankful you weren't there..." He added.

Gilbert's grip loosened around Ivan, slipping his hands out from under the other's hands. They were freezing, which was ironic, as Gilbert found, to match his personality.

But those eyes. Those ones that Ivan had on just minutes before. They looked almost comforting, like they were full of warmth. And that confused Gilbert even more. Why would someone so cold have such warm eyes?

Letting out a huffy breath, Gilbert just rolled his eyes, dismissing the thought and turned away from Ivan again. He placed his chin on top of his knees, which were close to his chest now. He closed his eyes before speaking, "So, now that Berlin's down, why do you still want me? What else is there for me to do?"

Ivan was fixing his scarf, pulling it up over his cheeks so only the top of his head and eyes were visible. "Well... Since you can't live with your brother, you can stay with me." He said it more of a command rather than a question.

"In here?" The albino glanced around the building. "No thank you." He crossed his arms over his chest, pouting his lip slightly and leaning against the wall again.

Ivan laughed again. He looked as though he were about to ruffle Gilbert on the head, but decided against it. "Oh silly Gilbert..." He shook his head in dismay. "In my house, of course."

If it was even more possible, all the color from Gilbert's face drained. _Back to his house? Who knew what went on in there! Who knew if he would ever come back out, or even see the light of day again! _

But judging by what he knew, Gilbert thought that this place was nicer in comparison. "Change of thought, I'll stay here..." He nodded, hoping that Ivan would just let him be.

The taller man raised an eyebrow. "Aw, why?" He asked, sounding a bit disappointed. Gilbert didn't know if he really was disappointed or was just playing it. "Don't you miss seeing my sisters?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

Gilbert looked up at him in confusion for a moment, trying to remember. It drew back faint memories. One of the girls, he knew, had long hair and was always following Ivan around. Natalia was her name. But the other one, Gilbert couldn't quite remember hers. He only saw her once, and had been slapped for staring at her chest...

Before he knew it, Gilbert realized he had been staring thoughtfully into Ivan's eyes for that long moment. The Russian had acknowledged his staring but didn't blink though. Turning his head to the side, Gilbert let his breathing slow down to a normal pace. _Why was his breathing going so fast in the first place?_

"Fine." He answered quietly.

Ivan blinked innocently for a moment, possibly shocked that Gilbert had given in so easily like that. Nevertheless, he just smiled again and stood up, pulling the other up by the collar.

"Alright then, let's go!" He sounded a bit too cheerful for Gilbert's taste as he started to drag him out of the warehouse.

Almost choking, Gilbert tried to keep up with him, stumbling every now and then by Ivan's tugging. Ivan hadn't let go of his collar just yet, so Gilbert had to walk behind in in an awkward position.

"Ugh... Do you mind... letting me go?" Gilbert gasped out when the tugging stopped for a few moments every now and then.

Ivan glanced over his shoulder and gave him a quizzical look. "Why would I do that? So you can make a run for it?" Once again, he was trying to look innocent.

Gilbert snorted. "Doubt I'll even make it two feet anyways." His said sarcastically, rolling his eyes in the process.

He saw Ivan's expression change for a moment, guessing that maybe the taller man was reconsidering Gilbert's words. With that in mind, Ivan suddenly let go of Gilbert's collar, causing him to stumble almost head-first into the Russian's back.

"Hey! Why'd you do that-?" Gilbert yelled but stopped when Ivan's hand suddenly grabbed onto his.

An explosion of warmth creeped up the albino's arm from the other's small touch. It was a strange warming sensation that Gilbert had never felt something like this before. It was like Ivan had a built ini fireplace in his hands. The numbing feeling in Gilbert's fingertips were melted away in a heartbeat, only leaving the feeling of Ivan's hand on his.

The white-haired man looked up at the other in both shock and amazement, but Ivan had his back turned and continued on walking.

The warmth was now spreading throughout his body like he had just curled up in a blanket. Gilbert had to admit that he was pretty thankful for this, since he'd probably freeze in just a second. But he'd never admit that to Ivan, but just a silent thanks to him would be okay for now.

"I hope you don't mind if I hold you like this then, da?" Came Ivan's voice just a second after he cleared his thoughts.

"Wha-?" Gilbert piped up, casting him a confused look even though they still were not facing each other. "Oh yeah... Sure..." He covered his face now as the warming sensation settled up to his cheeks.

What... Was he _blushing?_

_No! No way! That's preposterous! _

"Good." Ivan's voice was full of enjoyment now as he cast Gilbert his signature smile, but his eyes were closed, making him look even more child-like as though he weren't planning on something.

_Don't fall for that smile! _One voice in Gilbert's head warned him. _You know that something bad is going on in his head!_

_But he did help you warm up. _Another voice argued back. _That _**_has _**_to count for something! Right?_

_Don't be ridiculous, Ivan's probably going to snap your throat when you get to the house! _Voice one snapped back.

_Come on, he's in a good mood though. Look at him! Besides, if he wanted Gilbert dead, then he wouldn't gotten rid of him already. Gilbert's got nothing to worry about. _Voice two said back, trying to breath some sense into the other voice and to Gilbert.

He shook his head, trying to shut those voices up, as he still clung on to Ivan's hand for support. Now was not the time for all this arguing. He just had to focus on getting to Ivan's house in one piece and probably start planning an escape route to get back home to Ludwig.


	4. Chapter 4: I'll Carry You Home Tonight

**Chapter Four: **I'll Carry You Home Tonight

**Author's Note: Warning! Super fluff ahead!**

Gilbert was hot. Heck, he was on _fire._ His cheeks were already a rosy pinkish color, that matched the tips of his ears. The roaring warmth flooded through his blood, making him seem like he had just jumped into a bath of hot water. God, what he would give for one of those right now...

Suddenly, everything hit him all at once. There was a searing pain in his side, which he guessed that maybe his cut was opening back up again. Slowly, his senses began to awake and he took a moment to realize where he was. He was moving at quite a fast speed but his legs weren't moving, he was riding on something. He then felt something hard but warm against his chest and his arms where draped around the same thing.

All of a sudden, his eyes came into focus. He was riding on the back of Ivan. His head lay on his shoulder, almost touching the other's head and Gilbert's arms were around Ivan's neck. His hand were still trapped in Ivan's though, as if he was a child holding onto his mother before they crossed a busy street.

Gilbert lifted his head, gazing around at the landscape to see if they made any progress to Ivan's house and to find out what the heck actually happened to him.

Ivan seemed to have felt Gilbert's movement, since he turned his head to the side so he could get a look at Gilbert's face with one of his purple eyes. "Good to see you're awake." He commented as Gilbert let out a slight yawn.

"Ugh... What happened to me?" He asked stiffly, raising his free hand up to rub his eyes and then ruffled his hair slightly, sending some snowflakes scattering on the two of them. _Looks like I've been out cold for quite some time then... _Gilbert noticed.

"You passed out while we were walking, so I decided to carry you." Ivan said stiffly, his face was unreadable. There was no playful look in his eyes and his signature smile wasn't on his face. He appeared almost statue-like which almost made Gilbert want to poke his cheek so that he'd go back to normal.

"Eh?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "I'd thought you would just drag me instead."

"Do I _look_ like I'm dragging you?" Ivan shot back sharply, the dark look back in his eyes again.

"No," He grumbled back, placing his head back down on Ivan's shoulder. As much as he didn't like being this close to the taller man, he did enjoy the fact that he didn't have to walk around for now. "But it sounds like something you would do..."

"Well, consider it a friendly gesture." Ivan said simply, his mouth was twitching as though he were trying to hide a smile that was creeping onto his lips.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly to get a better look at his face, seeing if he was joking or not. "Since when did you become so considerate?" He asked, both confused and amused.

Ivan didn't answer, but merely fidgeted with his scarf again. _Was he getting nervous?_ Gilbert thought as the other placed the scarf over the majority of his face again. But that's when the albino saw something and he knew that it wasn't his mind playing tricks again. He _actually_ saw it.

Ivan was blushing.

The taller man's pale face and gained some color once he had turned his face away from Gilbert. Just before Ivan had placed the scarf over his mouth, Gilbert had just the right amount of time to see the light tint of red that now covered the Russian's face.

Something inside Gilbert's chest leapt, and he had no idea why. It kept getting faster and faster, and he wasn't able to control it. He tried to get his breathing to slow whatever that was happening in his chest, but it was no use. He was sure that Ivan could feel that loud pounding in Gilbert's chest on his back.

But before the either of them had anything to say about the matter, Ivan pointed up ahead in the snow.

"There it is." He said stiffly.

Up above in the snow, Gilbert could make out a smaller house. It was a one story house, and looked more like a cottage rather than a house. It was plain and simple, but there were many windows in the front with large curtains draped on the inside. Gilbert couldn't see any farther into the house, but he had to admit that it looked nicer than the old shack that he was previously in.

"It's nice, da?" Ivan had been watching him, noting that Gilbert's face had lighten up slightly when he saw the house.

But Gilbert just rolled his eyes. "It's better than the shack, I'll admit." He muttered bitterly, but that was just enough for Ivan to pull another smile as they drew closer. The albino didn't say anything more, but just still held on to Ivan, hoping that he wouldn't slid off the other's back.

By the time they neared the house, Gilbert snuck a peek inside through the windows. It looked a bit cozy, as he noticed the couches near the fireplace.

Maybe it wouldn't be bad here...

There was a blurry flash that moved around in the house and that suddenly caught Gilbert's attention. It wasn't a thing, so who was it? Was it one of Ivan's sisters?

"Ah, looks like Toris is home." He said calmly, reaching for the door, still not dropping the albino off his back yet. Gilbert just raised an eyebrow like he was supposed he knew who the other was, but didn't bother to question Ivan yet.

Ivan opened the door now, walking inside and shaking the snow off from his boots. He slid Gilbert carefully off his back, placing the other man by the door once it was closed. He then began to take off Gilbert's bloodied coat.

"Woah! What are you doing?" Gilbert gasped aloud, trying to snatch back his coat.

Ivan just looked down at him, innocently confused. "I was taking your coat. Wouldn't you want it cleaned?"

Gilbert kept a hard stare with him, but he was still so tired, that he didn't bother to argue with the taller man. So he just reluctantly slid his arms off his blue coat, revealing his bloodied white shirt underneath.

"Oh dear, looks like that one's a mess too." Ivan pursed his lips together. He moved his hands up to Gilbert's shirt and began tugging it off, slightly revealing Gilbert's milky white chest underneath.

"Geez! Will ya quite stripping me?!" Gilbert shrieked, slapping back Ivan's hands and tried to place his shirt back on. "We've only been here a few seconds and you're already acting like you want me in your bed!"

Ivan's unblinking eyes just looked down at him. What appeared to be a glimpse of hopefulness flashed in the other's eyes for a moment, but was gone in a heartbeat.

Gilbert let out a sigh, turning away from the other and began to untie his boots. Placing them by the door, he smoothed out his shirt before turning back around.

He could feel his face being heated up again. _Ivan looked so hopeful just then... Was that true about what I said? Was that what Ivan's plan was? _The more Gilbert thought about it, the more logical it seemed to sound. And the more logical it started to sound, the more terrified Gilbert seemed to become.

"Toris? Can you go clean this?" Ivan's voice seemed to bring back Gilbert from his thoughts.

That was when he realized he had his head against the wall, slumped over slightly in thought. Clearing his throat, Gilbert turned back around and saw Ivan handing off his coat to the other man, who was probably the Toris that Ivan had address.

Toris took the coat carefully before giving the taller man a shaky smile. He nodded slowly and then left down the hallway, without saying anything.

"What's with him?" Gilbert asked as soon as Toris was out of earshot.

"Hm?" Ivan turned back around, his hands behind his back. "Oh, Toris? That's just how he always is." He nodded, smiling smugly.

Gilbert felt as though he were missing something here. It bothered him slightly, but decided against it to not to push it any farther. Sighing, he reached up a hand to his hair, ruffling it again.

"Do'ya mind if I use your shower? I kinda don't want to be covered in blood anymore." He asked quietly.

Ivan chuckled. "But you look better in blood," he said simply, making Gilbert just roll his eyes again. "Sure, you can use the one in my room." He offered, beckoning the other to follow him to the hallway.

As Gilbert followed him, he soon realized that the house was definitely bigger on the inside than on the out. The living room was fairly big. Big enough to hold two small couches and a fireplace. The kitchen was opposite to the living room. There was a fridge, stove, and a pantry, probably full of food. That made Gilbert's stomach growl slightly. Maybe he could grab something when Ivan wasn't looking...

Ivan led him down the hallway, passing two rooms before he approached one. It was in the back of the house on the left side. Obviously, this must be Ivan's room.

The taller man just smiled as he opened the door for Gilbert, like he was showing him a whole new world. Gilbert cast Ivan a worried glance and edged his way inside, with Ivan following close behind him.

The room was a bit small. There was a large window on the farthest wall over, opening to the snowy realm outside. Next to the window, was Ivan's bed. It was quite large and looked like it had been freshly cleaned. It looked welcoming, making Gilbert even more tired than he already was. There was a nightstand next to the bed, holding a few of Ivan's items on the top. But other than that, there wasn't much else in there.

"The bathroom's in here." He gestured to the door near a corner of the small room. Gilbert reluctantly walked over to it, flicking on the light switch and nodding. "I'll have Toris get you some clean clothes for you to change into." Ivan continued as Gilbert leaned against the threshold to the bathroom door.

Gilbert took this quick second to notice that Ivan wasn't making eye-contact with him. That increased the albino's suspicion. Something was definitely going on in his head.

"Yeah... okay." Gilbert wasn't much of a person of saying thanks, so he just nodded in response, closing the door as Ivan turned away. Breathing out a heavy sigh, he ran a hand through his hair as he turned towards the shower.

Glancing up at his reflection, he stopped for a moment to examine himself. His white-hair was sticking up in every direction. His red eyes looked even more red from the lack of sleep he was getting. And he just looked paler than he usually did.

_God, I look awful..._

Gilbert sighed again in defeat, rubbing one of his eyes before turning on the hot water for the shower. Stripping down, he looked at his reflection again. There were so many cuts and wounds along his body that he couldn't even begin to know how poorly or how well those will heal up.

The shower felt amazing. Gilbert had managed to clean out some of his wounds, especially the one on his side. The bleeding had stopped, which was good, and the hot water seemed to make Gilbert's sense waken up again. He almost felt reborn again.

Smiling to himself in the mirror after he had dressed in the simple T-shirt and pants that Toris must have left for him, he headed out of the bathroom.

Ivan's bedroom was quiet, considering Gilbert was the only one in there. The door was closed, but the curtains were still drawn back on the windows.

He was about to head out of the room, when he stopped. Instead, Gilbert traveled to Ivan's bed, moving around to the opposite side so he could be closer to the window. The snow had stopped falling hard now and Gilbert was about to make out a small line of trees. He assumed that that wasn't where he came from, since it seemed a lot closer here than actually walking to the forest.

Gilbert sat down against the bed, which was surprisingly comfortable, as he continued looking out the window. The snowflakes were falling peacefully to the ground, adding to the collection. He wondered what it would be like to be a snowflake, just having one job to fall to the ground. Of course, it was silly to wonder that, but Gilbert just shrugged. _Being a snowflake is probably better than being here._

Suddenly, without a warning, something attacked Gilbert from behind. It was large and held on to his waist tightly. He was about to yell out, bringing his arm up to strike back when he stopped.

Ivan was holding onto him by his waist. The taller man was laying on his stomach with his head on the side of Gilbert (thankfully not his wounded side). The purple eyes were closed as Ivan breathed in heavily, leaning his cheek on Gilbert's side.

Gilbert slowly but his hands down once he realized who it was. His first instinct was to push him off and demand what the hell he was doing. But Gilbert, for some odd reason, didn't. Ivan seemed to notice this too, by peeking an eye open at the albino for a split second.

Gilbert just felt his mouth go up in a small smile before placing his hand gently on top of Ivan's head, feeling how soft his hair was. Ivan seemed to like that and leaned his head more into Gilbert's hand.

It was weird seeing how child-like Ivan was behaving right now. As though he were some sort of dog waiting to be paid attention to. Gilbert couldn't help but feel that harsh beating inside his chest again, as though he were about to have a heart attack of some sort.

_What was going on with him?_

Ivan still had his eyes closed, hugging Gilbert just as tight, and remained motionless for a few minutes. Gilbert still stroked his hair, not really sure as to why he still was, but didn't bother to question it.

"You're so warm..." Came Ivan's muffled voice after a while, snuggling closer.

Gilbert snorted in amusement. "Well, I _did_ just come for the shower, idiot." He shook his head, moving his hand off from Ivan's hand to his lap. He continued looking out the window, watching the small snowflakes again. But he had on this small smile, feeling himself heat up again.

_I really have to stop doing that..._

"Why did you stop?" Ivan moved his head up slightly. "I liked when you did that."

Gilbert looked down at the taller man again, who looked like he hadn't moved a muscle since he got here. Smirking and shaking his head slightly in dismay, he placed his hand back on Ivan's head.

But this time was different. Suddenly, Gilbert felt himself being yanked backwards onto the bed. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact, even though it wasn't hard.

"Hey-!" Gilbert protested, opening one of his eyes and glancing up at Ivan, who was sitting atop of him. But he was suddenly silenced when Ivan brought his head down and placed his mouth on his.

Shock raced through Gilbert's body, trying to comprehend what was going on. But he couldn't think. It was like someone had just turned off his brain for everything. He just stared up at the other with wide eyes.

Ivan's lips were cold though, sending shivers up Gilbert's spine, as they worked around Gilbert's own. He could feel the Russian's tongue suddenly slide across his lips as he then went into panic mode.

What should he do?

What _can_ he do?

Soon, Ivan's tongue was in his mouth and Gilbert couldn't help but allow him to enter. The kissing felt so deep and passionate that Gilbert didn't really know how to deal with it. Ivan was definitely taking control over him; he couldn't even get his own senses to function properly.

Ivan's tongue clashed with that of Gilbert's as their lips brushed and licked with an endless intensity that was to a point of no return. Both their hearts seemed to pound loudly in their chests as if beating to some sort of rhythm that only they could understand.

This was wrong on so many levels. Yet, why did it feel like it was the right thing to do?

Ivan suddenly let go of the other's lips and traveled downward, leaving a trail of kisses along Gilbert's neck and slowly down to the collar of his shirt. Gilbert closed his eyes for a moment while his breathing became a soft, sensual sigh. Whatever rational thoughts he was trying to grasp were already slipping out of his mind.

"Ich... Why are you doing this?" Gilbert asked aloud in a shaky voice, opening his eyes as Ivan began unbuttoning the while shirt that he had on. Ivan didn't respond as he pulled off the shirt and tossed it to the side where it was easily forgotten.

Letting out a small sigh, Ivan sat up, smiling down at Gilbert, who lay in a heaping mess on his bed. He took this moment to admire the other's exposed creamy chest that looked almost as white as the snow outside. Those purple eyes, as Gilbert now realized, were now blazing with the deepest craving.

"You're so beautiful, Gilbert." Ivan said breathlessly, his eyes growing soft as he smiled slightly down at the other. He ran a hand up and down to caress the other's muscled chest.

That made Gilbert's face run red again. He'd never been called beautiful before by anyone. Heck, he's never actually been given a compliment quite like that. Before, people had always been cautious around him due to the fact that he was extremely pale and had red eyes due to his albinism.

That's why he would always call himself awesome. Because there was no one else around to tell that to him. Not even his own brother ever mentioned such compliments to him before.

Gilbert didn't know how to respond to Ivan, so he just covered his face instead.

"You're blushing," Ivan commented, amusement in his tone again.

"Am not!" Gilbert retorted, covering his face again and muttering crossly to himself.

Ivan leaned closer and moved Gilbert's hands out of his face. "You're cute when you do." His smile increased more as he closed his eyes, placing another hard kiss on the other's lips.

This kiss was a lot more hotter and intense. The murky taste of Ivan was like nectar, the fabled drink of the gods. It was wondrously intoxicating and it made his head spin. Gilbert hadn't even bothered to put up much of a resistance and instead gave himself willingly to pleasure. It seemed to keep Gilbert a lot more distracted to realize that his pants where almost off of him.

"Woah. Woah!" Gilbert called aloud, breaking away from Ivan quickly and trying to move out from underneath the taller man. But that did no help. "Wait... Wait... Please don't." Gilbert begged softly, bit his lip.

"Oh? Why ever not?" Ivan's face was close again, but his eyes were closed. Both of their noses were almost touching as a smirk settled on Ivan's lips again.

Gilbert blushed again, not sure how to respond so he just hid his face. "Don't smile, dammit!" He complained, feeling himself start to shake with nerves. "It pisses me off!"

Ivan just simply ignored that, still smiling with his eyes closed. It was weird seeing Ivan like this, the albino had to admit, but he was also terrified of what was going on. He had trouble trying to catch his breath as Ivan held him closer again, his lips planting a short kiss on the hand Gilbert used to cover his face now.

After a moment, he just let out a heavy sigh. "I was just thinking about how angry Ludwig would be if he knew that I'd do to your body." He smiled warmly.

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "Why would he get angry?"

That caused Ivan's eyes to open. Those purple orbs were filled with so much lust that it made some of the color Gilbert had just gained drain away.

"You wanna find out?"

**Just want to say that I can't write smut for my life, so the next chapter will take place the next day. ^-^ Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5: By Your Side

**Chapter Five:** By Your Side

It was still cold by the time when Gilbert awoke the next day. Even though the sun was just making it's way up into the sky, it was still cold. It was always cold.

Letting out a sigh, red eyes opened, slowly adjusting to the light that was shining through the open curtained windows. It seems that those didn't get closed the previous night, but Gilbert didn't mind. He had to admit that it was a nice sight to wake up to; just complete white.

The younger man felt fully refreshed, which was strange because he didn't recall feeling this much strength the last day. He had been wounded, severely, and almost on the cusp of death. But now, here at this moment, he felt like a new man.

But something didn't feel quite right though, which bothered him immensely now. He just couldn't place his finger on it yet. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as if they knew that some was wrong, or something bad was going to happen.

Rubbing his head, he sat up in the warm bed and moved the covers over off of himself. That was when he noticed that he didn't have any other clothes on and his pale skin was completely exposed. If anyone was to come in now, that would be rather embarrassing. He craned his neck, searching around the room to find his clothes.

He spotted his pants near the window and hopped up to get them. His balance was a bit wobbly and as he tried to take a step, he collapsed to the floor in a heap. Something was not right with his body. It suddenly began to hurt terribly and Gilbert had no idea why. It wasn't because of his wounds, since those were beginning to heal, but it was mostly the lower region of his body that started to ache.

Letting out a groan, he inched his way over to grab his pants and underwear. After pulling those on, he fell backwards onto the bed again. But his head hit something hard and he let out another groan.

Moving over, he saw a mound in the bed, buried under the covers of the bed. Following it up, Gilbert saw some light hair that lay messily against the white pillow. Gilbert slid back up to where he had just been sleeping and looked down, almost letting out a gasp in alarm.

Ivan was also in the bed with him, except he was still sleeping now. That was when the memories of what happened last night came fluttering back. All that he could really remember was the feeling of warmth. How warm he felt just being that close to the Russian. Who knew someone so _cold_ could be so _warm_?

Gilbert's head lay back down on the pillow, still facing Ivan. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping, like he wasn't a care in the world. Of course, Gilbert knew that to be false, Ivan was a problem in the world, or mostly the start of them.

It just struck Gilbert now that he had just shared his bed with probably one of the most dangerous people of all time.

He should feel guilty. Hell, he should feel disgusted that he allowed Ivan to do all of that to him. Ivan had taken something from Gilbert that could never be placed back.

~  
_"You're a virgin, aren't you?" Ivan had said, smiling up at him once Gilbert's full body had been exposed. But Gilbert clutched himself up into something like a ball, trying to almost cover up a feeling of shame._

_"N-No!" Gilbert spat back, avoiding eye-contact with him. He had to force himself to not look into those lustful purple eyes. He should be hating them, he should never have been looking at them in the first place. Now it was like looking at something he could never get._

_Ivan's face was close to Gilbert's ear, making the smaller man shudder when he spoke. "Don't lie, Gilbert." He began, his hands were on Gilbert's chest again, trying to move the other's arms and legs down. "I know when you're lying."_

_"I'm not lying!" He tried protesting again, still keeping his head turned away, his face growing even more red now that it nearly matched his eyes._

_"Can I..." There was a devious look in his eyes. "...take it?" He asked innocently, moving Gilbert's head forward so that now the two of them were staring into each other's eyes._

_"What?! No!" Gilbert roared out. "No way, man! You're too scary! You should just back off, you freak!" He shook his head, trying to get out from underneath Ivan's grasp, but it was no use._

_Pain flashed on Ivan's face as he moved backwards again. He got off of Gilbert and sat with his legs over the side of the bed, his head in his hands thoughtfully._

_Gilbert sat up, propped up on his arms and looked cautiously at the taller man. But before he could ask what was up, Ivan spoke up._

_"You think I'm scary?" His voice was quiet, almost hurt._

_"What?" Gilbert moved a bit closer to him, looking at him with a concerned face. "Of course I do!"_

_Ivan didn't say anything more, but just turned his head away from Gilbert when he sat down next to him on the side of the bed._

_"Well, I mean everyone does. Just look at Toris! After seeing how he acted today, I'm sure he's terrified."_

_Still nothing from Ivan._

_That was when Gilbert decided that maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. Moving his head, he tried to get a better look at the Russian's face, but he couldn't see anything. Ivan's face was almost completely covered by his scarf. He was breathing heavily, but that was all that Gilbert could see._

_Did he hit the wrong note? Gilbert wondered, feeling slightly guilty about being so harsh towards him just now. What should he do? Should he apologize? No, he couldn't do that, he wasn't that kind of person. Then again, he shouldn't be behaving this way towards Ivan like this._

_"Yo, man, I-I didn't mean..." He tried saying, reaching over to grab Ivan's face and pulled it over to face him. Gilbert expected some resistance from the other, but there was none. Ivan's face just turned around, his purple eyes were full of hurt, it looked like._

_He looked like a child who had just been told that his dog had just been ran over by a car. That caused sharp pain to be stabbed right through Gilbert's heart, almost feeling like it just shattered into pieces._

_This was all his fault. He had to do something. But what?_

_He hated this feeling about seeing Ivan so unhappy like this. But he should be happy, he finally knew some way how to break the larger man down to size. This could be a vital piece of information to him and his brother for taking him down._

_But he just couldn't bring himself to do that._

_Just looking into Ivan's face like that reminded Gilbert of something._

_Himself._

_Ivan seemed like he was always alone, even though he was surrounded by people. He had never really had anyone to actually to be around with that didn't quake in fear of him._

_Gilbert was also alone. No one wanted to be near him due to what he looked like. Who would love someone as hideous and a disgrace like him?_

_But Ivan had called him beautiful. That was the first time he ever heard someone tell him something that was positive. Even though it was from someone he was supposed to hate._

_How could Gilbert really hate Ivan after he said that?_

_Gilbert had to find a way to make it up to him._

_"Fine." Gilbert let out a sigh, bringing his head down, still trying to persuade himself to go forward with this. "You can take it." He saw Ivan's eyes light up with wonder. "But," Gilbert held up a finger. "You better be gentle." He jabbed the finger at Ivan's chest._

_Ivan's eyes changed again. First, they were full of wonder. But then changed to shock once he realized what Gilbert was talking about, and the softened to just pure joy._

_"Gilbert!" He yet out a yell of excitement, wrapping his arms around the other and they both fell back against the bed, burying his face into Gilbert's neck._

_Ivan mumbled something then. It was something small, but had a great impact on Ivan, which Gilbert noticed as the other began to warm up._

_But Gilbert had no idea what he said.  
~_

What did Ivan say? Gilbert wondered endless possibilities, but nothing came up that seemed logical. Maybe he could ask him when he would get up. Maybe he should just wake him up instead?

Gilbert's face had been towards the ceiling when he was recalling back the memory. So he turned to the side, looking back at Ivan again.

He was so cute and innocent when he was sleeping and Gilbert couldn't help but feel himself blush again. Even though Ivan was such a cold-hearted person overall, he really did have a heart in there somewhere.

Gilbert's hand moved from his side up to Ivan's face, stroking the soft skin of his cheek. Maybe it was just him, but Gilbert thought he saw a small smile tug on the Russian's lips, as though he knew that Gilbert was stroking the side of his face. The albino felt himself smiling back, leaning in closer to give him a small kiss on the cheek...

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

Gilbert froze as Ivan's eyes quickly opened wide. Their faces were about a few inches apart, staring at each other in terror. Neither of them spoke a word.

Then, there came a voice that made Gilbert's skin start to crawl.

"_Big_ _brother_... I know you're in there, big brother..."


	6. Chapter 6: All or Nothing

**Chapter Six: **All or Nothing

Red stared into purple, and the other way around. Gilbert and Ivan lay there, still staring at each other with a horrified expression on their faces. Ivan's eyes were full of worry and panic. Gilbert's were full of just sheer terror. They both knew who was trying to claw their way through the door.

Natalia.

Ivan let out a squeak and through the covers over his head, completely covering himself so now he just looked like a blob of blankets in the bed. Gilbert just watched him, starting to shake slightly with nerves.

He knew how frightened Ivan was of his sister. Everyone was for that matter. Sometimes she seemed even more scary than Ivan was, just because she followed around him, glaring dangerously at anyone who tried to get in her way of her brother.

"Big brother..." Her voice came again, seeming more sinister than before and making Ivan give a big shudder.

Ivan still didn't say anything, but just peeked his eyes out over the top of the blankets over to Gilbert, who was staring at the door, scared if it would suddenly just burst open.

"Gilbert," Ivan piped up, a slight hint of terror in his voice. Just hearing that surprised Gilbert, he had never heard Ivan sound like that before. "Gilbert, you have to help me." He whispered, his big eyes were pleading. "You have to get rid of her."

Since his throat suddenly latched up, Gilbert couldn't manage out a word. He was just as terrified from her as the Russian was. There was no way he could confront her now.

He then felt Ivan suddenly on his chest, burying his face in his bare chest (since Gilbert still wasn't able to find his shirt yet). His face was still warm, but he was shaking. Gilbert couldn't help but put his hand on the back of his head and run his fingers through the other's hair.

There was a sigh. "Alright, but you owe me." Gilbert said stiffly, ruffling his hair roughly before moving the taller man off of him. "Well, if I ever come back." He laughed nervously, trying to lighten the situation, but only seemed to make it more awkward and terrifying.

_Well, here goes nothing, _Gilbert took in a breath, holding it as he opened the door a crack. There was a scuffling sound outside as Natalia's face suddenly came into focus through the quarter opened door.

"Big brother, is that you?" She asked.

Gilbert suddenly came into her view and she immediately but up her guard. The long-haired woman glared up at Gilbert which seemed as though daggers were going to shoot from her eyes.

"What are _you_ doing here?" She asked coldly. "Where's big brother?"

"I live here now." Gilbert matched her tone, trying to intimidate her and trying to sound fearless. "Ivan took me in. But he's..." There was a quick glance over his shoulder to Ivan in the bed, who was looking up at him with a apprehensive looking. "He's not here right now!" Gilbert squealed out once Natalia moved closer to him, her eyes were still dangerous.

"I don't believe you." She muttered, trying to move him out of the way. "Why are you in big brother's room? No one goes in here but me and him."

"Well, looks like there's been a change then." Gilbert shot back, not knowing where all this was coming from. Surely he was digging his own grave now.

Natalia was about to say something more, probably a retort or a death threat, but she was suddenly caught.

"Natalia! Where'd you go?" Came a high voice.

Gilbert saw another woman come bounding down the hallway, a big smile on her face. Gilbert couldn't help but stare, feeling suddenly warm again.

"Oh! You must be Gilbert, huh?" The woman continued. "Ivan has told us so much about you!" She ginned, grabbing him into a hug, but only ended with him face-planting into her chest.

Once she released him, she turned her attention towards her sister. "Natalia, we obviously disturbed Gilbert here. We should go into the kitchen and make big brother something until he gets back!" She smiled again, grabbing her sister's hand to pull her along.

Natalia went reluctantly, but still glared at Gilbert. "Don't think you got off this easy." She muttered, narrowing her eyes again.

Gilbert couldn't help but let out a sigh, closing the door again. _Thank gosh that other lady was there or else I would have been dead meat!_

Gilbert almost slammed into the closed door when he felt Ivan wrap his arms around him again. "_Spasibo_, Gilbert." He muttered softly, burying his face into Gilbert's back.

"Uh, yeah... Sure." Gilbert wasn't quite good with receiving thanks as well, so he just patter the other's head as in a 'you're welcome' sort of thing. "Well, you're going to have to have to come out of here eventually."

Ivan just shrugged. "Well... I'm sure Toris will be glad through to find out she's here. If he ever finds out that is.."

Gilbert cast him a confused look, turning around so that now his back was leaning against the closed door. Ivan was kneeling in front of him, his face against Gilbert's creamy stomach.

The other smiled up at him, his chin resting on Gilbert's chest "You see, Toris has a big crush on my little sister, Natalia." He explained.

Gilbert blinked in confusion. "_He _has a crush on _her?!_" He jammed his thumb in the way that Natalia had disappeared to. "Yikes." He added quietly.

Ivan nodded. "Yes, though she completely despises him. It's quite ironic, actually."

"Ironic?" He raised an eyebrow. It's creepy! I mean, whoever would like here? She's like a psychopath!" He stopped. "I mean, like no offense or anything..." He winced.

The other just shrugged, tilting his head so that his cheek now lay against Gilbert. "I guess Toris only sees her positive side..."

"Hmm... well I sure don't." Gilbert said quietly, also quietly but Ivan just smiled up at him again before planting a kiss right on his stomach. Gilbert chuckled softly before gently nudging the other's head off of him. "Come on, enough of that."

He spotted his shirt over in the corner and went to pick it up. Ivan was standing up on his feet now, watching over Gilbert as he placed his shirt back on.

"You look better without that on." Ivan's voice suddenly spoke up as Gilbert started buttoning it up.

"Ha!" Gilbert said, smiling a bit and shaking his head. "I thought you said that I looked better in blood?"

Ivan was behind him again, snaking his arms around Gilbert's waist and placing his head against the side of his too. "Mmm... I changed my mind." He placed some kisses along Gilbert's cheek and down to his neck.

"You're so weird." Gilbert rolled his eyes, still having a slight smile on his face as he tried to move Ivan's head out of the way. "Come on, I'm still trying to get dressed here."

"I liked you better when you had nothing on."

Gilbert snorted in amusement. "Easy for you to say."

Ivan looked up at him curiously. "What do you mean by that?"

Gilbert's voice hitched again. He couldn't admit that to Ivan that he had never been complimented like that before, could he? No, it would totally interfere with his awesomeness.

"Erm... It's nothing." He stated instead, pushing Ivan off of him and walking back over to the door to the room. Ivan watched him go, not bothering to move just yet. "Uh, I'm starving. I haven't eaten in forever, I'm going to get something." He opened the door, looking out down the hallway just to make sure the coast was clear. "You coming?"

Ivan shook his head, looking down. "No, go ahead. I've got some things I've got to take care of." He turned away, walking back over to his bed.

Gilbert didn't want to just leave him here, but just by the way Ivan looked thoughtfully out the window, he decided it was best to just leave him alone. Ivan seemed to be thinking hard about something and Gilbert desperately wanted to know. Did it concern him? Was he still in some sort of danger now? He didn't know.


	7. Chapter 7: Heartbreak Warfare

**Chapter Seven: **Heartbreak Warfare

"Hey, Katyusha," Gilbert said aloud, approaching the taller woman, who was in the kitchen, setting the table for dinner.

Kat looked up from the table after setting down some of the plates. She had a smile on her face as she beamed up at him. "Hello, Gilbert!" She said all too cheerfully. "What can I do for you?"

Gilbert looked around, slightly embarrassed, but cleared his throat. "Um... Have you seen Ivan?" He asked, glancing over his shoulder just to be safe. Natalia was still around, so Gilbert had to keep his guard up whenever he mentioned Ivan. "I haven't seen him all day."

A look of both confusion and sympathy crossed her face. "No, I haven't," She answered simply, returning to place the plates more properly along the table. "I hope he comes back soon, dinner's almost ready."

Gilbert just nodded in understanding, staring down absently at the table while she worked. Gilbert didn't know what was eating at him, but he felt suddenly concerned for Ivan's sudden absence. The Russian wasn't in his room where Gilbert had left him earlier that day. He wasn't anywhere else in the house, which made Gilbert think that maybe he left home to go and pillage some town or something.

Of course, Gilbert shouldn't feel worried about the other man, considering how large and powerful he was, but Gilbert did. He felt as though Ivan left because of something he said or did. But it didn't make any sense. What did Gilbert do or say to make Ivan leave?

Or maybe Ivan just left to think more clearly about how he was going to deal with Gilbert later. After all, the Russian had said that he was going to make Gilbert's life miserable here. But how?

In fact, Gilbert actually quite liked it here, despite all the cold snow and Natalia of course. It was indeed different from his home in Germany, but that didn't really matter that much. Despite how the house was practically all cold with ice and snow, it was still warm and rather comforting inside, which Gilbert wasn't expecting the first time he came here.

Sighing, he shook his head and left the kitchen. He needed to ask someone else about him. But the only other person who was around was...

_Fomp!_

Gilbert had his back slammed against the wall of the hallway, being pressed against his will be someone...

Natalia.

She was glaring at him with her dark eyes. Her face was expressionless, which gave her a more deadly appearance. And even more so when she had a knife directly under his chin, which she held on to tightly.

"Where's big brother." She asked coldly, not moving a muscle.

"I don't know!" Gilbert managed to choke out. "I was just about to ask you the same question!"

Natalia glared at him for a moment, studying his face as though she were trying to depict whether he was lying or telling the truth. After a moment, she released him from the wall and moved farther away from him so that she was on the opposite side of the hallway. She wasn't looking at him anymore, but was just staring down the hallway.

"I'm worried about him." She said quietly, making Gilbert raise an eyebrow.

"Why's that?"

"Because," She sighed, turning to face him again. Gilbert almost jumped backwards in alarm when he saw that her eyes had grown softer. It was strange seeing her like this, but it made her look much more serene and pretty almost.

"Ivan's been acting strange." She continued.

"Isn't he always?"

"That's not what I meant."

"Well, what did you mean?"

There was a sigh from her as she looked away again. "Ever since you got here, Ivan's been different. I haven't seen him act like this before."

"Act like what?" Gilbert was intrigued now.

"He's so... happy. Like he's a little child who had just gotten a puppy for the holidays."

Gilbert was silent.

"Don't take me wrong, I'm glad to see this side of him. It's actually having some impact on myself as well. It's like I'm not as threatening to people lately. But... it's just hard to see him like this, knowing that you aren't the one who's making him smile like that."

_"The figure of you suffering makes me happy..._. _However, how can I be happy when the one causing you pain is not me?"_ Ivan had said the first time they crossed paths.

"Well, who's making him like that?" But Gilbert already knew the answer.

Natalia glanced up at him, her eyes were wide as though she were about to cry. "You're so daft, sometimes." She shook her head. "It's you, Gilbert. I don't know what it is about you, but Ivan really takes a liking to you."

Gilbert snorted slightly. "It's because I'm so adorable, right?"

Natalia didn't answer.

Instead, she just walked over to Gilbert and placed one hand lightly on his chest. "Please, you need to find him and talk with him. You need to find out what's going on with him." Her voice was quiet but pleading. But she didn't wait for Gilbert's answer, and left to go into the kitchen to help her sister with dinner.

Gilbert watched her go, his head spinning. _Ivan was acting strange because of me? Why me? I thought he wanted to kill me, didn't he? I better clear all of this up before something bad happens or Natalia kills me, or something._

He shook his head, clearing that. But he knew what he had to do. He had to go outside and find out where that large Russian had wandered off to. Marching down the hallway, he grabbed his coat near the front door and opened it. Glancing behind his shoulder once more, he saw Kat and Natalia look up at him in confusion, but Gilbert just gave them a slight smirk and ventured outside.

The cold air hit him immediately, like it was a boulder being thrown at him, almost knocking him backwards. Luckily, Gilbert managed to grab some gloves and a scarf next to his coat, and placed them on. It helped stop the cold air a bit, but it was better than nothing.

Starting to walk along, he trekked through the snow, almost collapsing at some points since the snow sloped down at several parts. He hated snow, but nevertheless, he kept pushing.

That was when he saw them. It was as clear as a cloud in the blue sky. There were tracks in the snow. Gilbert distinctively knew that they were Ivan's.

He was just about to follow them, when he stopped. A thought had occurred to him.

What was he doing, following Ivan? He could just leave! He could just get out of here and find his way back home to Germany and to Ludwig. He could leave all of this behind and never look back. He could be free.

That thought made Gilbert swell up with joy for a moment. But it deflated almost as quickly as it came.

What about Ivan? He couldn't just leave him out here, could he? But he was a prisoner here, captured against his will by the large Russian. He had to leave.

But Gilbert couldn't make himself move another step.

Maybe Gilbert wanted himself to be captured. Of all the places he went, he came here. He could have gone somewhere else when he was under attack. But no, he came here. It was as if some sort of unknown force was driving him up to here. No matter where he turned, he always came up to here.

Gilbert had suck to his knees now, not caring how the cold snow pierced through his clothing to his skin, almost chilling him to the bone.

Ivan had done so many things for Gilbert already, and the Russian probably didn't even know. How could Gilbert leave him after he had done all of that? There was no way.

_"I won't let you die... for now, da?"_

_"You look better in blood,"_

_"Oh Gilbert, how you amuse me so."_

_"Since you can't live with your brother, you can stay with me..."_

_"You passed out while we were walking, so I decided to carry you."_

_"You're so warm..."_

_"You're so beautiful, Gilbert."_

Those were just some of the things that Ivan had said to him when they first met here. How could Gilbert throw all of that away? Someone was just finally learning to appreciate him, and he was just about to run away from it all?

Gilbert was crying now. Tears were streaming down from his face, and he didn't bother to try and cover them. They just kept coming, turning into small ice as soon as they hit the snow. The albino placed his head down, covering his face as they hit the snow. He was just a ball of sorrow now, wallowing in his own self pity and unable to comprehend anything now.

For the first time in his life. Gilbert felt the one thing he never wanted to feel.

Loneliness.

All his life he had been surrounded by people, friends and family alike. But now, he was all by himself out here in the cold snow, wanting someone to come and comfort him. But who would come? No seemed to care about him, or else someone would have sent a group to come and rescue him from up here.

No one cared.

Gilbert's soft crying turned into louder sobs as his whole body lurched with feeling. He felt like he was just going to get buried in the snow and die. This feeling now was about ten times as more painful as coming here all wounded the first time. Those were nothing but scars, able to heal themselves back in moments. But this feeling that was in Gilbert's gut, in his _heart_, wasn't going to be able to go away. Not for a long time.

"Privet..."

There was a voice. It was as soft as a whisper in the wind. Was the wind talking to him? Gilbert didn't know, but his gut-wrenching cries were quieted down to only small whimpers.

"Gilbert, why are you crying." It was the voice again.

Gilbert could feel something against his back. It was warm and moved along his back in slow strides, as if trying to calm him. The smaller man lifted his head slightly, meeting a pair of bright purple eyes. They were full of concern and worry.

It was Ivan. He had come back.

_He had come back to me._ It was like Gilbert's heart had a voice now.

The albino could only stare up at him with big tearful eyes, not able to say anything to him.

"Gilbert's what wrong?" Ivan tried again. "Did someone hurt you?" His voice was so sincere, as though he really did care for him now.

Gilbert just shook his head, still not finding his voice. Instead, he just leaned his head into Ivan's chest, feeling the soft cloth of his large coat against his face. He was still warm, despite the temperature outside.

He was always warm. But no one could feel it.

Only him. Only Gilbert.

He started crying again, but not as violently, just small tears that slid off his cheeks. Ivan must have been shocked, just seeing Gilbert acting so vulnerable like this, despite the other's regaining strength. But Gilbert didn't care, he just had to get all of this out.

"Why did you go?" He asked softly.

Ivan didn't answer at first, but he was still staring down at the other in confusion. "I told you, I needed to get away for a moment. There was some things I had to take care of."

Gilbert just nodded, bringing his arms up and wrapping them around Ivan's waist. "Right..."

"But are you okay? You're awfully cold..."

"Mmm..." Was all that Gilbert could muster out. What else was there really to say? Gilbert didn't know if he was okay. He really didn't. He was at war with himself. Should he really tell Ivan what was going on with him, revealing everything that he thought and felt?

Ivan was about to say something more, but Gilbert started speaking again. He let go of the Russian's body and sat up, wiping his eyes with his gloves. "Yeah... I'm okay," His voice wavered, not making eye-contact with Ivan yet. "We... We should go inside. It's cold out."

Ivan smiled, somewhat relieved that nothing wasn't hurting Gilbert. But if only he knew. "Yes, that's probably a good idea."

Gilbert somehow managed to get to his feet, reaching up to grab Ivan's hand. The Russian was a bit hesitant but just reluctantly allowed their fingers to intertwine as Gilbert pulled him along through the snow. They didn't say anything, but Gilbert didn't mind the silence. He was sure that he was making the right choice. He could've just left, he could have gone home. But he didn't. He didn't choose to go home. He chose to take Ivan back to the house. This was his choice and he was sure of it.

Ivan had caught up to him, walking next to him like they were best friends now or something. Maybe that's what they were now. Friends.

Just that word struck something inside Gilbert's chest though. Just friends. Maybe that's all just what they were, friends. Maybe that's all that Ivan wanted him to be, nothing more and nothing less.

But Gilbert didn't want that. Maybe he wanted something more. Maybe whatever that was bothering Gilbert was because that he wanted to be something more...

"You're awfully quite, Gilbert." Ivan chipped up after a while as they neared the house more. "Is everything okay?"

Ivan was sounding concerned again. Gilbert was glad that Ivan was taking such interest all of a sudden. Oh how Gilbert wanted just to admit everything to Ivan and let him in his mind. But he couldn't bring himself to do it. Gilbert was one of those people that couldn't do that with people. Maybe that was why no one liked him quite like this; because of how he let no one in.

'I... I don't know." Gilbert sighed out, exhausted with all these feelings that he was fighting with now.

"Hmm?" Ivan was still interested, obviously not convinced. "I'm pretty sure that it's not nothing, Gilbert. You can tell me, you know?" Now, it was more of a question rather than the usual commands he gave Gilbert before.

"It's..." There was a sigh of defeat. Gilbert just couldn't continue. "It's just... complicated." He admitted finally.

Ivan stopped walking, pulling Gilbert almost immediately towards him. They stood standing in the snow as it swirled around them, staring into each other's eyes for no longer than a few moments.

"Like I said, you can tell me." Ivan pressed, eager to hear what was going on inside Gilbert's head.

But Gilbert didn't listen. He didn't want to say. He just couldn't. Gilbert wasn't the type to admit his feelings, especially towards Ivan. What if he didn't return the feeling? What if he was disgusted that Gilbert may sort of actually liked him?

_"Ever since you got here, Ivan's been different. I haven't seen him act like this before. He's so... happy. Like he's a little child who had just gotten a puppy for the holidays."_

That was what Natalia had told him earlier in the day.

_Ever since you got here..._

_... He's been happy..._

Maybe... just maybe, Ivan liked him back. Natalia said that Ivan was different now that Gilbert was staying with them. Maybe he did like Gilbert as much as he liked him back in return.

Maybe...

"Gilbert?" Ivan's voice cut back into Gilbert's head, bringing him back down to reality.

The albino had been staring up into the larger man's big purple eyes without realizing he was. There was just something in those eyes that Gilbert couldn't look away from. They were indeed hypnotic.

"Come on, let's head back to the house." Gilbert looked away, keeping his head down and pulling Ivan back along the path through the snow in which Gilbert had came from.

Ivan didn't press Gilbert with anymore questions, so he was thankful about that. All Gilbert wanted to do right now was go back to the house and curl up in a little ball in Ivan's bed and sleep forever and never wake up.

Once back inside the house, Gilbert was relieved that it was just as warm as he had left it. Natalia and Kat weren't in the kitchen this time. The table, though, was all set up and prepared for the dinner that they were going to have in a while. Gilbert shrugged off his coat and kicked off his boots, placing them by the door before storming away down the hallway.

Ivan, who was both confused and concerned for the younger man, followed him down the hallway. Gilbert opened the door to the bedroom and crossed over to the bed, throwing himself down on the comfortable blankets.

He was aware that Ivan was also in the room with him, probably just staring at what a mess he was, all crumbled on the bed like a pathetic waste he felt now.

Gilbert sighed into the covers, burying his face even more deeper and closed his eyes tight.

Suddenly, there was a large pressure that was brought against his back. It started crushing him, cutting off his breathing a bit.

"Ouch!" He complained, raising his head up and looking behind him. Ivan was laying on top of him, his face was buried in Gilbert's back and his arms were almost wrapped around Gilbert himself. "Get off of me!" Gilbert complained, trying to wiggle his way out from underneath Ivan. He didn't want Ivan to bother him like this now.

"I don't want to." Came Ivan's muffled voice. He didn't move up, moving his arms closer to Gilbert's sides and kept his face against Gilbert's back.

Gilbert let out a heavy sigh, seeing as though he wasn't going to move anytime soon. Instead, he did the next best thing that he could do. Leaning up slightly, about as far as he could really move, he moved his head forward towards Ivan's and planted a kiss on the top of his head.

He could feel Ivan's body stiffen as his lips retracted from the Russian's hair. Gilbert kept his face expressionless as he saw Ivan lift his face up to look at him. He was staring at him with wide eyes, as though he didn't know what was going on.

Gilbert kept his face straight, taking this moment to flip himself somewhat over so that he was on more of his side now than on his stomach. Ivan still watched him cautiously. One of the albino's hands moved up and snaked around the other's neck, resting securely on his shoulders. The other, however, moved up Ivan's arm and carefully began moving part of the larger man's jacket off of him. Gilbert kissed the top of Ivan's forehead again.

"Ivan..." Gilbert murmured softly against the other's hair.

Fear struck Ivan in the eyes as he was trying to comprehend what Gilbert was up to, but Gilbert didn't even know himself what he was doing. He was just going with it.

"Wh... Gilbert... _Woah_!" Ivan let out a gasp, jolting as he felt Gilbert's hand start to move downwards towards the rim of his pants. He pushed Gilbert back down onto the bed, staring at him in disbelief. "Eh? Eh?!"

Gilbert just stared up at him, his eyes were glassed over with what appeared to be some sort of lust. Gilbert tried to make himself look as innocent as possible, which wasn't that hard because he was just going with what his heart was telling him to.

"Wh- Wh- Wh- !" Ivan couldn't finish. "What's gotten into you so suddenly?! You've never done anything so dominating before!" His was still in shock, watching Gilbert as he laid over him.

"Ah, maybe." Gilbert said in a small voice. "First time for everything, right?" Without waiting for an answer, Gilbert propped himself up, bringing up his lips towards Ivan's. His lips met the Russian's, tongue already brushing the other's lips and everything.

Gilbert could feel his heart pounding roughly against his ribcage. This was just a perfect moment for him. It was true, he was never this dominating towards anyone. But nonetheless, Gilbert pushed forward. Holding onto Ivan's neck again, he deepened the kiss and slowly began to flip Ivan over onto his back.

As Gilbert undid Ivan's shirt, the larger man couldn't help but smirk up at him. The Russian reached up a hand and placed it against Gilbert's cheek, lifting it so that they were looking at each other's eyes. "I don't know what's gotten into you..." Ivan began slowly, smiling as he continued.

"But that's sexy."

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I was brainstorming about what I should do for the last chapter. Plus school bites, so. This is the second to last chapter, so the next one will be the last! I'll try to make it as happy ending-ish kind of thing as I can. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews and everything, it really helps me out. Thanks you~ xxUSxUKxx**


	8. Chapter 8: Tell The World Im Coming Home

**Chapter Seven:** Tell The World I'm Coming Home

It was cold this morning. Then again, when wasn't it? It was always cold here. And yet, for the time that Gilbert had been here, he had still not gotten used to all the snow. He still hated it, despite it being quite beautiful to look at.

Like mentioned before and for several times, he was cold. Then again, he was only just in his boxer shorts, all wrapped up like a burrito in the thick blankets of Ivan's bed.

Letting out a large yawn, he moved his arm over to the other side of the bed, expected for it to brush against the soft face of Ivan. But it just fell against an empty pillow. That grabbed Gilbert's attention. Perking his head up from his own pillow, he looked around for the other. Once again, the bedroom remained empty.

Where the hell could he be this time?

Pulling himself up by using the edge of the bed, he managed to grab his clothes in one sift movement before preceding to put them one.

"I swear, I'm going to kill him if he ran off again." Gilbert grumbled under his breath as he pulled his pants on over his legs. Grabbing a smaller blanket, he placed it over his shoulders as though it were a cloak and headed out into the living room of Ivan's house.

No one was around. Not even Katyusha or Natalia.

_Weird, _Gilbert furrowed his eyebrows together. _Where could everyone be?_

Gilbert thought it was time to investigate around. There was still so many other rooms in the house that he hadn't even been around to. So Ivan had to be in one of them, at least that's what he assumed.

It took about several hours until Gilbert had checked around the whole house. Not anyone in sight. He was just about to give up, when he heard a small sound coming from one of the rooms in the back behind the kitchen. Gilbert didn't even know there was a room back there, so he got up from his post and went to go see who was there. It _had _to be someone, right?

Pulling open the door with a creak, he noticed that he had walked into someone's office. Ivan's, he took it, as the larger man's coat was hanging on a rack near the door. The sound was still coming from this room, but Gilbert didn't see anyone in here. Was it just his imagination?

There was the sound again, a little bit louder this time.

Gilbert craned his neck, trying to search around and see where it was coming from. The noise was a little bit odd to him. It was a sound of whimpering, of pain, or sorrow. Who was crying? And why?

Once he came to the desk, he checked out over the chair, but didn't see anyone. But suddenly, he lost his balance once he passed behind the desk. With a yelp, he collapsed to the ground.

"Ouch! What the hell-" He stopped once he saw Ivan, crouched in the desk where the occupants legs were supposed to go. Gilbert's face softened quickly when he saw the other's face. Was he crying?

"Privet," The other said simply, trying to wipe his face clean.

Gilbert didn't say anything yet. Instead, he just shooed Ivan's grip off his leg and crawled over next to him, pushing the chair out of the way so that he could sit down next to him. Reaching up a hand, he traced his fingers on the other's cheeks, wiping off the tears that stained them. Ivan flinched slightly at the other's touch, which made Gilbert give him a confused look.

"Ivan? Are you okay?" He asked, pursing his lips together in concern.

The Russian opened his mouth to speak, but nothing quite came out, which only increased Gilbert's worry for him. What could be bothering him?

That's when Gilbert noticed something clutched in the other's hand. It was crumbled but Gilbert knew it was a piece of paper. What was on it? "Ivan, what's that?" He asked the other again, gesturing to the paper in the other's hand.

Ivan didn't answer again. Instead, he just clutched the paper more, crumbling it and bringing it closer to his chest.

"Come on, it can't be that bad." Gilbert tried to calm down the tension that hung as clear in the air. "Lemme see."

He reached out his hand towards the other, ready to grab it when the door slammed open. Gilbert jumped in surprise, hopping up onto the office chair and looking up to see Natalia again.

_Holy shit! When did she get here? _Gilbert panicked, glancing down at Ivan in desperation. But the Russian just kept a blank face, putting his finger to his lips making a shush gesture before placing his head on Gilbert's lap and pulling him close.

Gilbert flinched. _What the hell was he doing? _He thought to himself, trying to wiggle himself out. But he wasn't paying attention to Natalia, who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Eeee!" Gilbert squeaked, trying to push himself farther away, but Ivan had a good grip on him.

"Why are you still here?" Natalia snapped, slamming her hands down on the table, making Gilbert flinch even more.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" He responded back. "I'm stuck here, remember? Ivan's keeping me here."

"No he isn't." Natalia narrowed his eyes down at him. "He just a-"

She was just about to finish when Katy came into the room. "Natalia! I thought I told you to leave poor Gilbert alone." She fussed, grabbing her sister's arm to pull her along out of the room.

"I know! But he's not supposed to be here!" She snapped, trying to struggle out of her sister's grip, but it was no use.

And with that, the two of them were dragged out from the room, leaving a confused Gilbert strapped into the chair. After two minutes or so, Gilbert could feels Ivan's grip on him slacken and Gilbert took this as a moment to push himself back.

"What the hell was that about?" Gilbert snapped at the other, who was still under the desk with an innocent look on his face.

_Oh no, Gilbert. Don't fall for that face. You have to find out what the hell Natalia meant by all that._

"What's going on?" He raged again. "I'm not supposed to be here? But you're the one who brought me here in the first place!" He clenched his teeth together, trying to look as fearless as possible. Ivan still wasn't moving. "Answer me!" He shouted again, standing up from the chair.

Ivan looked up at him for a moment more before letting out a sigh and standing up from underneath the desk. Running a hand through his hair, Gilbert noticed how distraught the other looked. It was like he hadn't slept in quite some time now.

"Ivan... Please." Gilbert said calmly after taking in a deep breath. Maybe now that he's partly calm that the other would start talking.

The other still didn't say anything, which was starting to tick Gilbert off now. _Why wouldn't he just say what's wrong? I can help! Doesn't he know that?_

But before Gilbert could form another thought, he was suddenly pulled away by Ivan. The taller man's large hand had his wrist in a hard grip, making Gilbert struggle to get out from it. It was like the first time that he had arrived, how Ivan had pulled him along with such force.

Soon, they were out the door of Ivan's home, traipsing along in the snow, which wasn't as high as it was the day before.

"Ivan! Where are we going now?!" Gilbert still tried to struggle under Ivan's grip. What had gotten into him?

Nothing. There was nothing that Gilbert could say now that would make a response out of Ivan. He had on a blank expression, not even his usual smile was on his face. He wasn't even looking at Gilbert now, just straight ahead.

"Goddammit, man! Let me go!" He tried tugging at him again, seeing if maybe he could release his grip on him. Gilbert's strength was back to its normal peak, so he was able to be much more forceful towards Ivan now.

Thankfully, he somehow managed to slip his arm out from underneath the other's, causing Gilbert to stop in his tracks and Ivan look back over his shoulder at him. The albino was rubbing his wrist, which was a bit red from being held on too tightly. His red eyes were narrowed in fury at the other. But when he turned around, Gilbert's face fell again.

Ivan's eyes were large and tearful, as though he had been crying since when they were first in the office room earlier that morning. Those purple orbs were glossy and so full of hurt.

What had happened?

"Ivan, don't cry. Please just answer me and then we can go back home, okay?" Gilbert tried reasoning, casting him a small smile to help seal the deal.

But there was still no emotion from Ivan yet. Only his jaw clenched, making his face look a little hard. Something was definitely bothering him, but Gilbert had no clue as to what.

Was it him? Did he do something? Was it what happened yesterday?

"No."

Gilbert came back down from his thoughts, blinking in confusion at the other. "What?"

"I said no." Ivan's face was still blank, making Gilbert think that he had just suddenly froze in the snow they were standing in.

"Why not? Isn't that what you want?"

Something in Ivan's eyes flickered for a moment. Desire? Hope? Gilbert didn't know, but it looked something along the lines of those.

"Yes, of course." He breathed out. That usual smile of his came back onto his lips as he closed his eyes.

"Well then, what the hell are we doing out here then?" Gilbert reached out his hand, grabbing onto the other's arm to pull him back towards his house again.

But Ivan didn't budge. His eyes were still closed as a swift wind blew through, ruffling their hair so that it went in front of their eyes.

"I can't." Ivan said simply, moving his arm from Gilbert's grasp.

"What? Why not? Is it because of Natalia?" The albino's eyes shot up in concern as he brushed his own hair backwards.

"No. It's not that." He shook his head, looking down at his feet. "I just... I just..." He was struggling with his words now, which seemed to unnerve Gilbert even more. I van just let out a big sigh, looking back up at the other with big eyes. "I just can't tell you now."

"Why not-"

Ivan placed a finger in front of Gilbert's mouth, silencing him and shaking his head in the process. "You will see. Come, then." He reached out his hand towards the other like he was offering some sort of token to him.

Gilbert didn't quite understand what the other was getting at. But nonetheless, he placed his hand in the other's before they continued walking. They were drawing closer and closer to the woods in which Gilbert had first came that few days ago. That day seemed longer ago than it had actually been, which was a bit strange to him.

"Well, can you at least tell me where we're going?" Gilbert tried again, brushing up against the other and clutching his arm for warmth.

There were no warning sirens going off in his head now. Then again, there was nothing that was being said about how bad this was. There wasn't anything bad about this now. Gilbert just felt so warm and cared for under Ivan's arm. Most people would probably think he's crazy, only because that was true. He was crazy. As cheesy as it sounds, Gilbert was crazy in love.

Love.

In love.

With Ivan.

And there was nothing more better than that.

"Like I said, you'll see." Ivan said to him, smiling his usual smile over to the shorter man. It was good to hear the amusement in his voice again, which made Gilbert's suspicion decrease quite rapidly.

_Maybe he just wanted to bring me out for a walk? I mean, there's nothing bad out here, is there?_

_What if he's going to kill you..._

That thought seemed to cause panic in Gilbert again. What if that were true? What if Ivan was actually going to kill him now?

_"What is he still doing here?" _That was what Natalia had yelled to him. Had she known that Ivan was going to kill him? Was she in on this plan?

Fear gripped the back of Gilbert's spine, almost crushing it completely. If he was going to die now, what could he do? There wasn't anything he could do now. Ivan had a good grip on him even if he tried to run away.

But why would Ivan kill him now? The Russian had several opportunities to try and dispose of him, but he never did.

Hopefully, just hopefully, that that wasn't what Ivan was planning for now.

"You're going to kill me, aren't you." Gilbert muttered softly, his head still leaning against the taller man's arm. His red eyes were wide with disbelief, and his mind still wandered.

"What?" That question (it was more like a statement though) seemed to catch Ivan off guard. "Kill you? Now why would I do that?" He was pulling the innocent being again.

"Because. Didn't you say you were?"

"No. I couldn't do that to you."

"What?"

"I said I couldn't do that. It would hurt me more than it would hurt you."

"I don't understand."

"It's..." Ivan trailed off, turning his head to look down at Gilbert, who was still attached on his arm. He smiled softly before kissing the top of his head. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

Gilbert kept his mouth closed, obeying to what Ivan said, but he didn't stop thinking about it. Ivan was always such a hard character to comprehend. He wasn't like an open book like some people he knew were. Ivan was more mysterious. And Gilbert didn't quite know how to deal with it now.

Before long, Ivan came to a halt, making Gilbert snap out of his thoughts. They had come out of the woods and stood before a city. It was wide, but still looked badly damaged, as though it had been attacked a few days before.

Gilbert raised up his head. This place seemed so familiar...

"Gilbert!"

It was a voice. A familiar voice. Gilbert didn't know who it was or where it was coming from.

Then, there was a man who limped his way over to the two of them. He was tall, with a hard stare, but his face was full of joy and almost looked like he had been crying. His blonde hair was messy, like he hadn't slept in days.

"Ludwig!" Gilbert's whole being suddenly rose as he let go of Ivan's arm and ran towards his brother.

The two of their bodies crashed together in a large embrace. Both were crying out tears of joy, patting each other's back and still gripping each other warmly.

"Gilbert! I'm so glad that you're okay. You had me worried!" Ludwig let out a laugh, ruffling his older brother's hair in a friendly gesture.

"You were worried? What about me? I heard you got attacked and..." Gilbert's voice faded as he let go of his brother.

_He got attacked by Ivan... Ivan..._

Gilbert turned around, hoping to see the large Russian still standing there. But he wasn't. In fact, Gilbert could just barely make out the small speck of him in the distance, retreating off into the woods.

What was he doing?

"Wait! Gilbert!" Ludwig cried out once Gilbert had let go.

The albino was now racing back to the Russian, flailing his arms and urging his legs to go faster. His strength had returned fully now, making him be able to catch up with the other in an instant. Ludwig wasn't far behind, but due to his limping, he wasn't as fast as his brother.

Hearing Gilbert calling out his name, Ivan turned around, watching with a confused look as Gilbert came closer.

"What... I don't... You are..." Gilbert panted once he caught up with the other. He placed his hand on Ivan's shoulder, trying to catch his breath before speaking again. "I don't understand, why did you bring me here?"

Ivan smiled softly, but it was more of a cover for something. Disappointment? Remorse?

"It's a long story," Ivan admitted, placing his hands inside his coat pockets. "But I had received a letter saying that I had to give you back."

"Why? You could have just ignored the letter."

He shook his head. "It's not so simple like that."

By then, Ludwig had caught up with them too, but he maintained his space from the both of them. He was still within earshot, but pretended to be interested in something else.

"Why not?!" Gilbert yelled aloud more fiercely, jabbing a finger at Ivan's chest. "You think you can just pull him in like that and suddenly just let me go?"

Ivan blinked. "I thought you wanted to be back here with your brother."

Gilbert froze. He did want to be back here in Germany with his brother. But now that he thought about it, the more Gilbert realized that Ivan was thinking of him, not himself. Maybe Ivan really did have a heart down there somewhere.

"Well, don't I get a say in this?" Gilbert retorted, glaring up at Ivan before casting a look at his brother. "You guys making a deal behind my back without my input on it! Unacceptable!"

He heard Ludwig let out a sigh. "Okay, Gilbert. What do you say about this then? Don't you want to come back here and stay with me? I'm your brother after all. Or do you want to go with... _him._"

There was some sort of distain in Ludwig's voice as he mentioned Ivan has a thing rather than by his name.

Something inside Gilbert just suddenly flared up. "He's not a _him_! He has a name!" He shouted, balling his fists up. Both Ludwig and Ivan's eyes were suddenly wide in shock. "His name is Ivan Braginski and he is the reason I am still alive now."

"Brother..." Ludwig began, but didn't know how to finish.

Gilbert let out a sigh, walking over to him and placing his hands on his brother's shoulders. "Lud, I know I'm your brother. And I know we've always been there for each other. But... it's just time for us to actually grow up. I have actually found someone who actually appreciates me. Who actually cares for me about who I am now."

"I appreciate you, though." Ludwig tried.

"Yeah? When was the last time you asked me to come to one of your meetings, huh?" That came out a lot harsher than he had intended it to be. But Ludwig was just silent, so Gilbert just let out another sigh. "Lud, it's not like I'm going away for good and-"

"I know."

Gilbert blinked. "What?"

"I know." Ludwig repeated again, smiling somewhat as he glanced from Gilbert to Ivan and then back. "I know that you love him."

"Wait... what?!" He panicked, his eyes were wide now. "Wait, hold on-"

"Gilbert, please." Ludwig said, placing his hand on Gilbert's shoulder. "I know that you do. Don't deny it. I've never seen you act quite like this, so I know it's true."

Gilbert didn't say anything.

"You can go. I'll be okay. Besides, it's probably better there than here anyway." Ludwig continued, still smiling. Gilbert could hear a small chuckle from Ivan from behind them.

He looked up at his brother with big eyes, not sure to be happy about this or concerned that his brother had given in to him so quickly.

"Besides," Ludwig said, letting out a content sigh. "It's better for you to go out in the world. Meet new people. You only have to take care of yourself out there."

"Ludwig," That was all Gilbert could manage out before he grabbed him into another hug. "Promise me you'll take care. I'll visit every time I can."

"Don't worry about it! You visit when you need to, okay?" The blonde ruffled the grey's hair before shooing him on.

"You're still the best!" Gilbert called over his shoulder as he started making his way over to the Russian again. Ludwig just raised his hand and waved them off before returning back.

"I don't get you." Ivan said simply once Gilbert was now walking with him.

"What's to get?"

"You could have gone home." Ivan blinked, but kept his smile.

"I am going home." Gilbert stated back, leaning up to kiss the other's cheek. "To my house of ice."


End file.
